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Putin wrong to liken missile defense row to Cuban crisis: US
Washington (AFP) Oct 26, 2007 The White House on Friday rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin's comparison between Moscow's dispute with Washington over defense to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. "I think that the historical comparison does not exactly work," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. "The purpose of the missile defense system in Europe is to defend against a missile that would attack one of our European allies and Russia," she added. Putin made the comparison in a speech in Portugal, but warned that Cold War tensions should not be repeated. "Let me remind you what happened in the same situation in the 1960s. When the Soviet Union deployed missiles in Cuba, it led to the Caribbean crisis," Putin said, using the Russian term for the Cuban missile crisis. "Thank God, there is no Caribbean crisis now, mainly because Russia's relations with the European Union and the United States have changed a lot" since the Cold War, he added. State Department Sean McCormack also rejected the comparison saying there were "some very clear historical differences between our plans to deploy a defensive missile system designed to protect against launch of missiles from rogue states such as Iran and the offensive nuclear-tipped capability of the missiles that were being installed in Cuba back in the 1960s that were targeting the United States." The discovery in October 1962 that Moscow was secretly building nuclear missile launchpads in Cuba pushed the world close to nuclear war in a terrifying 13-day brinkmanship between Russia and the United States. The United States has outlined plans to locate interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic in order to guard against possible missile attacks from Iran. Moscow has reacted angrily to the plans, saying the missile defense system is actually aimed at Russia. Perino added she was convinced Putin was willing to cooperate to resolve the dispute. "I think if anyone takes a look at his entire comments and looks at them objectively there is no way you could walk away without thinking that he thinks that we can work together," she said on the Russian leader. The two countries are also at odds over how to deal with Iran's suspect nuclear program. But Bush believes that "Russia agrees that Iran should not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon" after talking with Putin earlier this week, Perino said. "He came away feeling that that was a solid answer from President Putin," she said. Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Japan warns US over North Korea
Tokyo (AFP) Oct 25, 2007A senior Japanese official has warned the United States that relations will suffer if Washington removes North Korea from a list of terrorist states, amid stepped up efforts to end Pyongyang's nuclear drive. |
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